Whether you're on a date, catching up with your friends, or just looking for a way to kill a few hours on a Tuesday night, there are few modern indulgences that beat settling into a dark cinema and letting your worries escape you as you slip into another world. Spies, superheroes, lovers, musicians, presidents, dictators, robbers and cops: you'll encounter them all as the lights go down and the projector begins to whir.

There's plenty afoot a the pictures this month, so we're here to give you a little bit of help with choosing tonight's movie. See you at the candy bar.

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

What our critic said: Mary, Queen of Scots is a film steeped in two time periods, yet firmly of the times. The true tale itself has graced the screen before, but the angle favoured by this interpretation of the story is straight out of the #MeToo era.

Read the full review.

THE HATE U GIVE

What our critic said: Adapted from Angie Thomas' best-selling 2017 novel and inspired by the real-life killings of several black men by US police, The Hate U Give fleshes out its thorny narrative by embracing the complications of its subject matter.

Read the full review.

THE FRONT RUNNER

What our critic said: This is a film blatantly begging to be made in the current political climate. Adultery, cover ups, a media firestorm, and debates about the ethics of news coverage and what's even newsworthy all fill the movie's frames. Sound familiar?

Read the full review.

BEN IS BACK

What our critic said: Ben Is Back works best when it focuses on the quietly expressive Julia Roberts, and lets her commanding work turn an intimate snapshot into a bigger story.

Read the full review.

FREE SOLO

What our critic said: Every frame of Free Solo offers a palpable, visceral reminder of life's enormous risks and immense rewards — and to the filmmakers' credit, you're all but certain to feel the impact in your constantly sweaty palms.

Read the full review.

Published on January 30, 2019 by Concrete Playground